How things look through an Oregonian's eyes

July 03, 2019

CBD drops seem to be helping our dog's liver disease

About six weeks ago my wife and I were told by our vet that our nine year old Shepherd mix (ZuZu) was in the late stages of her chronic liver disease and likely only had a few days or at most, weeks, to live.

Her belly was filling up with fluid. Her eyes were yellowish. She was lethargic and didn't want to eat.

Along with having the fluid aspirated twice, putting her on milk thistle drops, diuretic, antibiotic, and a cortisone medication, I decided it wouldn't hurt to get some dog CBD -- the non-psychoactive component of marijuana.

Naturally this isn't a controlled experiment. I can't prove that the CBD drops are helping ZuZu. All I know is that her vet has told us that she's amazed at how well ZuZu is doing, given how dire her recent prognosis was.

And keep in mind that when the vet told us ZuZu only had days or weeks to live, that was with all the medications the vet had prescribed. Which didn't include CBD, as that was my decision.

ZuZu (photo taken just now above) has pretty much her old amount of energy. Her appetite is strong, though this could be a side effect of the cortisone. There's been no return of the fluid buildup.

My wife and I are grateful for ZuZu's recovery, even if it is temporary. Maybe the CBD drops are partly responsible for her improved health. Heck, it could be more than partly.

I'm a believer in CBD myself.

I take CBD drops several times a day for general health promotion. I've read enough about the therapeutic effects of cannabis in general, and CBD in particular, to conclude that the risks of taking it are hugely less than the potential benefits.

So it was easy for me to believe that CBD could benefit our dog, with little chance that it would hurt her.

Comments

Thank you, Brian, for this blog post. Our beloved Shalom, 11 year old Tuxedo Cat, was diagnosed a couple of months ago with a (probable) cancerous mass. We treat him daily with steroid drops and continuous on demand feedings. We are going to see about adding CBD drops to his regimen. Shalom is an awesome guy and until recently entertained our household with daily parkour manuevers.

This was very informative. Thanks for posting it. I've tried CBD drops for my familial tremors but can't claim they helped. When too much THC was added to the ones I bought, all I wanted was a nap-- hardly beneficial lol But they say it's finding the right amount of THC as it can make the CBD more effective. I'll keep this in mind for our elderly cat

I use a CBD salve which helps with dry skin dermatitis on my hands that occurs when I am doing a lot of work in the shop. CBD shows promise for some conditions but the placebo effect is a factor. I think it is worth a try.

My wife tried CBD drops which upset her stomach, but she sometimes finds some relief from back pain with edible cannabis.. mainly falling asleep and snoring loudly. Very loudly. Amazingly loudly.

Cannabis does not agree with me at all. Too strong. Really fucks you up. I don't know why people like being messed up like that. Life's tough I guess. Anything for an escape. They definitely should not drive under the influence or operate machinery, etc. Old joke: Drunks run stop signs. Stoners wait for them to turn green.

I think more negative side effects from heavy weed use will become recognized as more data comes in. Modern weed is far stronger than what we smoked before a Yardbirds concert. My son-in-law, an emergency room physician, sees cases of "scromiting". This happens to some long term heavy weed users. They come into the emergency room screaming and vomiting at the same time. An alarming spectacle that is occurring more frequently he says.

Our late dog had a damaged liver from the time we got her at 1 year. Likely due to the previous family’s kids feeding her chocolate. Her liver enzymes read very high. We gave her Livaplex her entire life and the enzymes eventually returned to normal. She almost reached age 15.5.